at midnight, piers morgan will wrap it all up right here at the cnn grill. and tomorrow morning on "starting point," political activist and actor kal penn will join us. beau biden. steve israel. illinois governor pat quinn will join us as well. from the romney camp, we'll talk to texas senator kay baill iley hutchis hutchison. that is all ahead tomorrow. "cnn newsroom" begins right now. happening now in the newsroom, life of the party. bill clinton making the case to keep president obama in office. one headline summing up what a lot are saying about last night, the big dog shows how it's done. >> their number one priority was not to put america back to work. it was to put the president out of work. i hate to break it to you. but we're going to keep president obama on the job. >> this morning, we ask can clinton's magic put barack obama

back in the white house? the price of politics. a new bob woodward bombshell alleging infighting. obama and boehner. one quote, it was increasingly clear that no one was running washington. plus, the dnc up against mtv. the vmas are tonight. from the network that spearheaded the rock the vote campaign, are they shooting themselves in the foot here? and next year begins now for the 32 nfl teams looking to take home the lombardi trophy. and what better way to kick off the nfl season than with one of the biggest rivalries, the cowboys and the giants. "newsroom" starts now. and good morning to you. thank you so much for joining us. i'm carol costello. we begin in charlotte where democrats are setting the stage for the big finale. but an elder superstar of the party may have stolen the show.

we'll listen to some key moments of bill clinton's rousing speech to the party faithful in just a moment. expectations were high, and by virtually all accounts the former president delivered. that will make a tough act to follow for vice president joe biden, who delivers a "primetime" address on this final night that culminates when president obama delivers his acceptance speech and makes the case why he should be re-elected. stock bill clinton, though. he made history even before stepping up to the podium. it is the first time a former president formally nominated his success successor. over the course of 48 minutes, he praised obama, mocked republicans, and electrified the democratic crowd. keep in mind clinton ad libbed nearly half of his speech. listen. >> i want to nominate a man who's cool on the outside but who burns for america on the inside.

[ applause ] >> when president barack obama took office, the economy was in freefall. it had just shrunk nine full percent of gdp. we were losing 750,000 jobs a month. are we doing better than that today? the answer is yes. no president, not me, not any of my predecessors, no one, could have fully repaired all of the damage that he found in just four years. he has laid the foundations for a new modern successful economy. a shared prosperity. and if you will renew the president's contract, you will feel it. you will feel it. when we vote in this election, we'll be deciding what kind of country we want to live in. if you want a winner take all, you're on your own society, you

should support the republican ticket. but if you want a country of shared opportunities and shared responsibility, a we're all in this together society, you should vote for barack obama and joe biden. as the senate republican leader said in a remarkable moment of candor, two full years before the election, their number one priority was not to put america back to work. it was to put the president out of work. >> boo! >> well, wait a minute. senator, i hate to break it to you, but we're going to keep president obama on the job. [ cheers and applause ] >> so let's view the speech from opposing perspectives on. the left, roland martin. on the right, will cain, a cnn contributor and analyst for the blaze. welcome, gentlemen. >> good morning, carol.

we should point out to the viewer that that was not the entire speech. that was highlights. the entire speech was 49 minutes. i know that seemed long. but the real thing was much, much longer. >> he ad libbed nearly half the speech. >> you know what, carol? >> yeah. >> you know what? here's what is amazing. a lot of people talk about bill clinton's speech in 1988 at the democratic national convention in atlanta, how long it was, that was 36 minutes. i was on the floor. in that room. trust me, nobody ever even felt like 50 minutes. probably for will cain it was 50 minutes of getting his butt kicked, it was painful for him, so i'm sure he did not want to have to have that feeling for 50 minutes. >> before we go on, we have to show the image the democrats would say the coupe de gras, the hug between barack obama and president clinton. can we show the picture? they had on identical ties and it looked like matching suits. it was beautiful.

the father of the attack ad said, shut the back door. clinton just handed obama the election. true? >> it's so sweet. >> will? >> it's so sweet. the chin on the shoulder, the back rub. it's so sweet. did it hand the election to president obama? no, i don't think so. look, roland pointed out in 1988, bill clinton gave a speech at the democratic national convention that was roundly criticized, and that time was only 36 minutes. this was 49 minutes. i'm going to agree with royland about something. it was a very, very good speech last night. former president clinton's speech, i don't know if it was a home run but it was up against the fence. and, you know, i would say this. set aside substance, carol, set aside the actual message of what he had to say, which is a funny thing to say in and of itself, he's one of about three guys who can make people listen for 50 minutes, to connect to the audience. the others are people like sarah palin and the other guy who will take the stage tonight,

president barack obama. >> will, will, seriously, sarah palin will not make you listen for 50 minutes. but you know what, carol? this is one -- >> be objective. i said set aside -- be objective. >> i am being objective. i'm not trying to listen to sarah palin for 50 minutes. here is the deal. you talk about jealousy. and i'm serious. this is not in a mean-spirited way. i guarantee you republicans were saying, man, we wish we had a former president who can come out and be a statesman like and do that for us. obviously, president h.w. bush, you know, he's up in age. health is not well. he's really not out there. and frankly, president george w. bush, way too toxic for the republican party. that's the beauty of having a former president who can come out there. that one line we played when he said, i know none of my predecessors could have turned this economy around, that means

you're bringing your experience to bear. that's what that was. and i'm sure republicans were saying, man, i wish we had us a bill clinton. >> two things stood out to me. one, clinton went off script. he ad libbed about half the speech. and two, instead of doom and gloom, there was joy. humor. a sense of fun. how does the rather scholarly barack obama top that, will cain? >> well, listen to what i just said. i'm not playing teams or spin or anything here. i think there are three people objectively who can connect with audiences and keep their attention, go off script, seem like they're giving you a real speech, a real talk, not reading a teleprompter. and i think those three people in the political arena right now are bill clinton, sarah palin, and president barack obama. so i expect the bar to be very high for president obama. >> why is sarah palin not part of -- wasn't part of the republican national convention, and she's really not participating much? >> because -- >> hello! >> because, carol, there's more

than just being able to connect and hold an audience for 50 minutes. there's actual substance that matters as well. if you want to reintroduce substance now, which sarah palin falls short on, president clinton last night had several moments where he misconstrued facts, misconstrued his role as explainer in chief. he was not truthful in many points on the level of substance. but i didn't think we were talking about that. we were just talking about connecting, right? >> that's right. just connecting. >> roland, last word. >> yeah. here is the deal. will, that's nice. but you know that's not -- that ain't happening. she's not going to connect in that way. bottom line, bill clinton was extremely effective in framing the conversation. this whole notion of can president obama top it. of course, he can. but he has a different job. his job is to cast the vision, laying the next four years. but i do believe as pastor

frederick dougla frederick douglass haynes often says, president obama should bowl down your alley and sit in your pew and get up close and personal and say i'm the one who will defend you and have your back when i'm in the oval office. that's the argument he has to make tonight. and i believe that he will, and i'm sure will, tomorrow, will be saying, man, they have michelle obama, bill clinton, and president obama. i wish we had a murderer's row like that on our side. >> i have to wrap this up. a bit of breaking news we have to pass on to people. thank you, roland and will. as usual. >> you bet. this is cnn breaking newses. ok. now for the breaking news. a u.s. airways flight returns to the airport following a threat. our affiliate wpvi is reporting u.s. airways flight 1267 had already left philadelphia on its way to dallas when a threat was called in involving a passenger carrying an explosive liquid. it happened just after 7:00 eastern this morning. the plane is back on the ground. the plane will now be searched.

of course we're going to monitor the situation. if they find anything or even if they don't, of course we'll pass it along to you. but for now, those passengers are pretty much stuck. we'll be right back.

13 minutes past the hour. to money news this morning, one of the keywords used in both political conventions, jobs. this morning, the labor department says 365,000 people

filed for new unemployment benefits last week. that's actually down 12,000 from the week before. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange with more. good morning. >> good morning, carol. let me point out if you're one of those millions of people out there who are out of work, you know, we all know these numbers probably aren't going to resonate. but there is a bit of improvement in these numbers. at least when you start crunching that data. fewer people than expected filed for first-time unemployment claims last week with the level now sitting at its lowest since the beginning of august. but the thing is, it's still stuck in a tight range, that 365,000 number. we really want to see it keep dropping as opposed to hovering the way it has over the last six weeks. now the monthly employment picture is also beginning to come into focus this morning. payroll services says private employers added 201,000 jobs in august. that came in much better than expected. this report by the way is kind of the appetizer to the big government jobs report coming out on friday.

keep in mind adp revised july's numbers higher. it could be a good sign ahead for the jobs report coming out tomorrow. >> what is wall street expecting from this big jobs report tomorrow? >> well, first of all, the adp report could make analysts a little more optimistic about tomorrow, but we've seen very cautious estimates about the number that could come out tomorrow. analysts surveyed by cnn money expect the economy added 120,000 jobs in august. that's of course after adding 163,000 jobs in july. the unemployment rate is expected to hold right where it is at 8.3%. keep in mind, the big picture here is the third to the last jobs report we are going to get before the elections. so you can guarantee that the campaigns are going to make hay, whatever the number is. republicans, they are likely to say, hey, look, the glass is half empty. the job creation isn't enough to bring down the unemployment rate. and then the democrats are going to say, we were losing 800,000 jobs a month when president obama took office. and now the economy has added jobs for 23 straight months. guess what, carol?

both sides would be right, if they said that. carol? >> alison kosik, live at the new york stock exchange. many of the swing states this election also areas where the housing market had the biggest collapse. now there are some signs of recovery. according to realty groups in these areas, home prices are up in three key states. nevada, florida, and ohio. in las vegas, the median price for a single family home is up 9% over last year. in florida, it's up 7.8%. while in ohio, those prices rose 4.9%. according to the experts, housing prices are starting to recover in most areas of the country. today, democrats are basking in the glow of bill clinton's fiery speech, and they are hoping they snuffed out the embers of a smoldering debate that revolved around the party's initial omission of two elements from the platform. one, any mention of god. the other, recognizing jerusalem

as the capital of israel. both were added with a voice vote. oh, but it was ugly. listen to the delegates here. >> i'll do that one more time. all those delegates in favor say aye. >> aye! >> all those delegates opposed, say no. >> no! >> in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 have voted in the affirmative. the motion is adopted, and the platform has been amended as shown on the screen. >> cnn's dana bash is at the dnc and joins us to add some context to this. dana, this is clearly is a distraction. could it have lingering effects? what does it mean really? >> it could have lingering effects. i think the answer to that would have been yes had the democrats not moved relatively fast to fix it. the question that we really haven't been able to answer is why did it happen. and the "it" of course are those

two big omissions. one the fact that the word "god" was in the platform four years ago and many years before that. in a graph when it was talking about hard work and people's god given rights, that was omitted. but i think maybe the more political dicey omission was the fact that they took the fact that jerusalem is the capital -- or should be the capital of israel out. because that was put in four years ago, and i remember it at the time, as a way for president obama, then senator obama, who didn't have the greatest relationship with the jewish community, who he needed very badly in some key swing states like florida, as sort of an olive branch. democratic officials from the top down, including debbie wasserman schultz, who is the dnc chairwoman, sat right here on soledad o'brien's show in the last hour and didn't really have an answer as to why it happened. i talked to one obama campaign official pretty high up who just admitted candidly they messed up. that's why they moved to fix it.

there was an outpouring of criticism from within the democratic party that they took the particular language out about jerusalem. about you you're right. you just played it. it did not go very well on the floor of the party. it certainly was an embarrassment. it was a little bit chaotic. nobody really knew what was going on. but you know what, carol? there were days before you and i covered politics that that was minor compared to the fights that parties had on the floor of the convention. maybe it's back to the future, back to the old days where god forbid something is not scripted. >> i think the next time we'll hear about it is in the debates coming up between barack obama and mitt romney. i have a sneaking suspicion that mr. romney will bring that jerusalem thing up. >> you may be right. "washington post" journalist bob woodward has a revealing new book chronicling last year's fight last year over the debt ceiling. it's based on interviews with

president obama, house speaker boehner, and other lawmakers who were at the negotiating table. woodward says the white house seemed unprepared to negotiate. "the washington post" also quotes the book as saying, he was spewing coals, boehner told woodward, in what is described as a borderline presidential tirade. he writes, quote, it was increasingly clear that no one was running washington. that was trouble for everyone, but especially for obama. the timing of the book is being questioned because romney is not part of the story. bill clinton took to the stage at the democratic national convention, and he's getting some rave reviews. so what exactly does that mean for barack obama? talk back, next. how did i get here? dumb luck? or good decisions? ones i've made. ones we've all made. about marriage. children. money.

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now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, will bill clinton's magic put president obama back in the white house? it was classic bill clinton. charm them, cajole them, but most of all, most analysts say, bill clinton got it down. that is persuade undecided

voters to re-elect president obama. >> in tampa, the republican argument against the president re-election was actually pretty simple. pretty snappy. it went something like this. we left him a total mess. he hadn't cleaned it up fast enough, so fire him and put us back in. >> many analysts think president clinton made the case for president obama better and more clearly than mr. obama has, for example, that question, are you better off today? president clinton said, heck, yeah. >> when president barack obama took office, the economy was in freefall. it had just shrunk nine full percent of gdp. we were losing 750,000 jobs a month. are we doing better than that today? the answer is yes. >> cnn contributor and republican alex castalano said, shut the back door.

clinton probably just got obama re-elected. never mind the two men aren't exactly friends. hillary, anyone? but last night, all appeared to be forgiven. and that hug between the cool obama and the cuddly clinton seemed, well, heartfelt. the talk back question for you today, will bill clinton's magic put president obama back in the white house? facebook.com/carolcnn. your comments later this hour. bill clinton's speech, of course, will be a tough act to follow. but president obama will give it a go in charlotte tonight. the question is, what is president obama going to say? we'll find out. 't go away. i was spotting, but i had already gone through menopause. these symptoms may be nothing... but they could be early warning signs of a gynecologic cancer, such as cervical, ovarian, or uterine cancer. feeling bloated for no reason. that's what i remember. seeing my doctor probably saved my life. warning signs are not the same for everyone.

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ok. a little bit more information about that u.s. airways flight. u.s. airways flight 1267 had already left philadelphia. it was on its way to dallas when a threat was called in. it involved a passenger carrying

some sort of explosive liquid. this happened just shortly after 7:00 a.m. eastern. the plane as you can see is on the ground. passengers are still aboard that plane. the fbi has now been called in. and we understand that of course authorities are already searching the plane. on the phone for us is a former assistant secretary from the department of homeland security, juliette kayam. she now works for the "boston globe." thank you for joining us to help us understand why those passengers are still ond board that plane when the threat was some sort of liquid. >> what we don't know right now, this would be normally routine. one, they have to figure out the most important thing was this a hoax or not. the specificity that there's an individual on this plane, you know, makes it sound like there might be a little bit of -- i don't want to say, you know, a

hockey behind it. because you tend not to get calls in like this with real terrorist attacks. and so they now have to figure out who that potential person is. so this is pretty routine. the fbi's involvement would be routine. we tend to forget, you know, that next weekend is the 11th anniversary of september 11. we have been focused on the conventions. and so there would be, i think, sort of more intense surveillance and security precautions going into a weekend that we know has, you know, always been the focus of both hoaxes and that potential terrorist attacks. >> so can you describe to us, juliette, what exactly is going on inside that plane right now? >> well, what we don't know is whether the call in was a specific individual or any passenger. so if it was a specific individual, that person is being found. but right now they are probably just determining and searching all individuals. >> so are they searching the luggage? questioning passengers? >> all of it.

because when you don't know, you know, if you let everyone off -- what has happened now is that the scene has been sufficiently isolated that if someone actually wanted to do something, they couldn't anymore, right? so that's the most important thing. and then now they have to figure out who could have potential person be. you know, take them in for questioning. so they are going to go through the luggage and through the passengers. and what we don't know on the outside right now currently is, you know, what is the specific individual that then has triggered the fbi and others to be concerned. are they on a watch list or something else, or is this just a totally random hoax, in which case then the investigation goes to the person who called it in. so that will be unfolding because we all know about it. we're now looking at it unfolding. i don't want to say that this is routine. it's not. these are quite rare. but on the other hand, at this stage, there is -- you sort of

have to just figure out in fact what motivated the phone call. and from my experience, you would be very lucky to get a phone call like that. generally, you know, these kinds of calls do not come in with that specificity. and specificity like that tends to be hoaxes, actually. >> of course, we're hoping. we've been down this road before. juliette, thank you for joining us this morning. >> thank you. we're also following another breaking story. veteran newsman tom brokaw has been taken to a charlotte hospital not far from the democratic national convention. nbc says the retired news anchor felt lightheaded. he is now being evaluated. brokaw is 72 years old. our medical team is looking into his previous medical history, and we'll let you know as soon as we have more details. but, again, tom brokaw taken to the hospital in charlotte, north carolina. also in charlotte, tonight,

president obama will take the stage to formally accept his party's nomination and tell voters why he deserves a second term. you're looking at a live picture of the arena. the venue moved inside from an outdoor stadium because democrats feared it would rain. it was a little over four years ago when the president gave his first acceptance speech to the dnc. >> four years ago, i stood before you and told you my story. the brief union between a young man from kenya and a young woman from kansas who weren't well off or well known, but shared a belief that in america, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to. i get it. i realize that i am not the likeliest candidate for this office. i don't fit the typical pedigree. and i haven't spent my career in the halls of washington. >> but he can't say that anymore. joining me this morning from charlotte is atlanta mayor cahim

reed. welcome, mayor. >> good morning, carol. >> so i think that most voters are wondering if president obama will say more than he wants to continue to cut taxes on the middle class, he wants to raise taxes on the wealthiest americans, give out tax money for more infrastructure projects. we all know that, yet the economy is recovering at an agonizingly slow pace. what will we hear that's new from president obama about how he'll really rev up the economy? >> well, i think that he's going to have more specific plans that he's going to lay out. i think that he'll focus on making sure that the american people know that he's going to make sure that they lawyer trained for the 3 million jobs that are actually vacant in the united states but that people can't get because they are not well trained. so a significant part of the way forward is training and retraining. we have also been in a bit of a stalemate. and the american people are going to decide whether we're

going to go forward with president obama or backward. so i think that he's going to ask the american people to stick with him so that the initiatives that have been blocked by an obstructionist congress can actually be cleared. so that we can invest in roads and bridges, which we know if we invest in significant infrastructure, we can create between 500,000 to 1 million new jobs. >> well, let's talk about -- >> hold on one second. wait a minute. you know that there has been no movement on a number of these programs. and i think there will be after the election. >> well, that's a question i want to ask you. we heard this rousing speech from bill clinton. he talked about how he was able to reach across the aisle and work with republicans on welfare reform, right? but it's sort of like reminding you that president obama hasn't exactly been able to do that. and what will he say to make voters believe that he can accomplish that if he wins the next term? >> well, i think people also need to remember and president clinton will tell you that it

took him two years of dealing with republican obstructionism. they didn't just start working with president clinton. and i think that folks in america know that the republican leadership in congress has fought this president tooth and nail. i think after this election, it's really going to be about doing what's best for the country. we're going to have a fiscal cliff that we're all going to have to work through as partners. and i think after you've had this extremely tough election that folks on both the republican side and democrat side are going to have to put patriotism above partisanship because that's the only way we're going to get to real solutions. it was tough for president clinton. folks act like they don't remember before they started making bipartisan progress. it will be tough for the president. but i think that that will have to be cleared to deal with the fiscal cliff. >> mayor reed, thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> thank you, carol. in less than a month, we'll

see governor romney and president obama duke it out at their first presidential debate. but there may be even more excitement for the vice presidential debate. we'll talk about that. [ female announcer ] kelly tweets, "yoplait light banana cream pie makes my taste buds do a happy dance." ha, ok! get ready for more happy dancing 'cause now all our light flavors are 90 calories each. yoplait. it is so good. ♪

there's a lot happening this morning. the dow is doing the happy dance right now. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange to tell us why.

>> trading day right now, carol, and the dow is up 153 points. a few things going on. for one, jobs. here in the u.s. we got a few readings giving us sort of a brighter picture on the jobs front. first, we got this adp report showing that private employers added 201,000 positions last month. and that far surpassed expectations. so that's part of the reason why you're seeing the bump here in the market. also, we got weekly jobless claims numbers. they fell more than expected last week to 365,000. that level is still a little high, but this drop of 12,000 last week is a good sign. and this is all giving hope for tomorrow's big jobs report. you know, the adp report is kind of an appetizer. but the main course is the big jobs report coming out tomorrow. so this is sort of giving hope that the number coming out tomorrow will be a good one. one more thing to mention, mario drago announced an unlimited bond buying program in europe

that is also helping to boost the market today. >> so if we have a bad jobs report tomorrow, then it's likely that the dow will take a dive? >> probably. and you also have to realize it's, you know, maybe three reports left, job reports that is, left before the election. wall street is certainly paying extra close attention to these numbers. july we did see a bump in the number of jobs created. what wall street is hoping to see is more of a trend of these triple digit gains for jobs instead of kind of seeing these low jobs. >> alison kosik, thank you so much. we want to go out to philadelphia once again to the airport there and update our breaking news. of course, as we've been telling you, a u.s. airways flight was forced to return to philadelphia international airport because of some kind of threat that an explosive liquid was onboard the plane. this is u.s. ourways flight 1267. it had already left philadelphia and on its way to dallas when the threat was called in, and it involved a passenger, as i said, carrying some sort of explosive

liquid. you can see -- i don't know who exactly is boarding the plane, but we do know the fbi has been called in. and we also know that passengers are still onboard that plane. and authorities are now searching the plane. they are questioning the passengers. but as of yet, the passengers have not been allowed to leave that plane even though there's a threat of an explosive liquid onboard. of course, we are continuing to watch this situation. we'll bring you updates as they happen. we'll be right back. with the fidelity stock screener, you can try strategies from independent experts and see what criteria they use. such as a 5% yield on dividend-paying stocks.

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mitt romney has held holed himself up in rural vermont where he is practicing for the presidential debates. he is staying in this multimillion dollar mansion. romney is debating with senator rob portman, who is playing the role of president obama in these series of mock debates. but romney did take a trip to a nearby swing state. new hampshire, to continue his attack on obama. >> two big numbers came out this week.

16 and 47. 16 trillion dollars in debt. and the number is 47. 47 million people now on food stamps. when he came into office, there were 32 million. there's just no way he can square those numbers with the idea that america is doing better. because it's not. >> this year, there are three presidential debates, and one vice presidential debate. the first one between romney and president obama coming in just a few weeks on october 3. then the much anticipated vice presidential debate between joe biden and paul ryan. that will happen october 11. on october 16, obama and romney face off in a town hall format debate moderated by cnn's candy crowley. and the last presidential debate is scheduled for october 22. that is just two weeks before the election. joining us now to talk about what to expect from the gop in the debates is republican congressman mario diaz milliard from florida. welcome, congressman. >> good morning, carol.

>> good morning. thank you for being here. you have worked closely with congressman ryan. you know, i think that people are excited for the presidential debates, but i think people are more -- even more excited and enthusiastic for the vice presidential debates. why do you think that is? why are they so excited to see paul ryan debate joe biden? >> well, first, paul ryan is one of the brightest individuals you'll ever deal with. one of the most prepared. he understands how the economy works. how -- what the economy is doing and what the country needs to do to create jobs. the other aspect is that vice president joe biden is always entertaining. he is a good debater. don't get me wrong. but you never know if he's going to open mouth and insert foot. i think a lot of people are waiting to see both of those things. you know, two people that may be good debaters but one of them, joe biden, who sometimes looks like he's on the headliner for "saturday night live" when he is actually trying to be serious. >> isn't it interesting that four years ago when joe biden

was debating sarah palin you might have said the opposite? i mean, joe biden was the statesman in that sense, and nobody knew what sarah palin would say during the debate. and now it's sort of the other way around, because that's largely the way republicans have painted joe biden. >> well, look, i respect joe biden. but those of us who were in congress knew joe biden. we knew joe biden as a person who is a very nice guy, by the way. he is very likeable. but tends to be wrong on the major policy issues. he was wrong frankly on just about every major policy issue. he is even wrong when he disagrees with president obama. so, you know, those of us that knew him were always kind of shocked as to how he is portrayed as this great expert on foreign policy. don't get me wrong. he was the chairman of the committee, but he was always wrong on the policy. that does not take away, however, from the fact that joe biden is a very good debater and a very likeable individual. he is a wonderful guy. the kind of guy that you want to go and have a cup of coffee with. but not the kind of person you

want dictating the policies of the united states. >> at least that's what republicans would say. we have to be fair here. i was just wondering something about mitt romney. he is not out campaigning. he's been holed up in this house practicing for the debates. why isn't he out there? why is he giving all of his time to practice for the debates? is he worried? >> no. i think, you know -- look, you can criticize the president all you want. but it's pretty clear that he is a very accomplished speaker and a very accomplished debater. and he's been doing this for many, many years. remember that governor romney is not a career politician. he is a businessperson who served a short period of time, very effectively, as governor of massachusetts. phenomenal governor of massachusetts. but he is not a, you know, fulltime politician. the president has been in politics for many years. he was in the state legislature, and now the u.s. senate, and now as president. so i think when you're dealing with such a professional career politician as president, and i don't think this is a criticism

at all, by the way, but the president clearly is, i think governor romney is right to make sure that he is as prepared as possible on the issues. >> let me ask you this. >> the contrast couldn't be more dramatic. >> let me ask you this question. mitt romney got a tiny little bump from the convention. do republicans feel that romney's performance in these debates make or break? is it a make-or-break moment for mitt romney? >> if you look at all the polls, in essence, they're both tied. so i think everything is going to matter. demads are going to matter. if people watch the debate, i think it will make a huge difference. i think you're dealing with two very bright individuals with totally different visions and versions of where they want to take the united states of america. you have one in president obama who's been now in control of this administration for four years. and it's been a failed presidency, when you look at the economy, when you look at all those factors. but he's a very accomplished

debater. then you have governor romney who has done everything that he does, succeeds whether it's fixing the olympics, turning them around -- but he's not a career politician who's used to debating every single day. >> well, he was governor of massachusetts. >> i think you're going to look at -- he was a very effective governor of massachusetts. he got unemployment down in massachusetts. >> he did debate in the republican primary. let's not say mitt romney isn't used to debating because he certainly is, or should be. there are plenty of debates during the primary season. >> look, he's debated but i don't think you can compare the amount of public exposure that the president gets. there's nothing wrong with that. he's the president of the united states, than with anybody else. governor romney is very accomplished. he has a great record. the most important thing is this -- the president cannot talk about his record or talk about the unemployment numbers, he can't talk about the energy prices. he can't talk about -- cnn, by the way, just had a fact check

on the so called 4 million jobs that was created and stated clearly that less people are working now than when president obama swore in. he can't talk about his record. he's going to be very aggressive as he's been in the campaign in criticizing mr. romney. mr. romney has to be ready for that because governor romney is one who's used to talking about facts and the record. now we're dealing with a different animal with president obama. >> we're all looking forward to the debates. congressman, thank you so much for being here this morning. we appreciate it. >> always a pleasure. thank you. of course, you can get full coverage of the debates right here on cnn. that starts on october 3rd. and in today's "health for her," did you you know you can be fat and fit? according to a new study, researchers looked at more than 43,000 people over a span of 24 years. they found half of those labeled

obese were metabolically healthy.

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let's take a break from politics and talk some football. the new york giants might -- well, they didn't win. the first time since 1999 that a defending super bowl champ has lost its opening game the following season. final score last night, cowboys, 24, giants, 17. for more on the nfl, i'm joined by chris verk via skype. hi, chris. >> hey. >> let's talk about the replacement ref. last night's head referee, he'd been a ref for nearly 30 years, primarily small college and arena 2 league games. but opening night appeared to be clean. did he do a good job?

>> yeah, i think all things considered, it went pretty well. they certainly tried to push us on his background on the tv broadcast and maybe convince us that he wasn't ready. but aside from maybe one or two missed calls, they did a fine job overall. >> i also heard while i was watching that tv broadcast and also espn that this was -- this is the best group of refs they have. and who knows who might show up for sunday's games? >> yeah, that's certainly the mystery. it's been kind of a game-by-game process at this point. we're not sure who's going to be reffing each game. so hopefully that wasn't as good as it gets and now we are on a downward spiral or sunday and monday when the games start again. but like i said, it was a good start for the replacement officials and for the nfl by relation there. >> let's talk about the game now because i was frankly surprised that dallas pulled it out. >> yeah, i think a lot of people were.

but they played a really good game. the giants looked sloppy. this is the first time in about a decade that the super bowl champions since the nfl started playing these early first games, the defending super bowl champions lost. and the giants certainly deserved to come up on the short end of that one. they looked sloppy, didn't play very well on offense. it was a good win. an important win for the cowboys to start the season. >> last question, what's the game you're most excited to see that's coming up? >> i think there's a couple. both the monday night games that are coming up. there's two this week, which is unusual. so those will be fun. it's cincinnati at baltimore. and san diego at oakland. and then sunday night, pittsburgh/denver. peyton manning's return, everybody's excited for that. >> chris, thank you so much for being with us. >> sure, thank you. next hour of "cnn newsroom" starts after a short break. i bought the car because of its efficiency.

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happening right now, a suspect now in custody after a us airways jet returns to the philadelphia airport. according to our affiliate, the suspect has just been placed under arrest. that flight, us airways flight 1267 was on its way to dallas when a threat was called in just after 7:00 eastern time this morning. now, the threat mentioned a

passenger was carrying some sort of explosive liquid. the tsa and fbr are still going through the plane right now. tom fuentes is a cnn contributor and joins us on the phone. hi, tom. >> hi, carol. >> are you surprised they made an arrest this fast? >> technically they made an arrest the second they got on the plane, had the person's name. he was in fact on that flight. he's no longer free to go so technically he's going to be in custody and that's technically an arrest. whether they end up placing charges against him and charging him with some type of an act of terrorism or carrying a weapon or explosive on the plane is a different matter. but they received the phone call. the authorities received a phone call. they were given the name of someone and told that this person is carrying a dangerous liquid on the plane. the plane was sent back. that person was, in fact, on the plane. that's clear. and now he's been taken in. so technically he's arrested. but we don't know for sure where

this will go. many times people call in phony threats or they call in information to the fbi or the police and say, oh, i know this guy, he's doing this, he's doing that. ends up it's somebody mad at their husband or boyfriend or boss or some other personal reason to get that person into trouble. and that's always the possibility. >> still, tom, i just want to tell people what we're looking at. this is a bull full of passengers. the passengers finally taken off that plane. when the plane landed again in philadelphia, 69 passengers on board the plane. everybody knew there was something going on. and then fbi agents went aboard the plane. tsa agents went aboard the plane. started searching and questioning people. but after the fact, if i'm a passenger and i found out it was a threat of an explosive liquid on board the plane, i would have wanted to be allowed to get off that plane right away.

>> well, i think the fact that it's not likely the passengers are going to start running down the tarmac to escape. i think in this case, they'll get them into a more comfortable environment, backs to the airport. get them where they can be separated for questioning to see what they observed and particularly with regard to this individual passenger who's been accused or has been arrested, what was he doing? what did he act like before the flight took off? what did he do during the flight? did he talk to anybody else on the plane? did he get up and go to the washroom or put something or take something out of the overhead bin or under the seat. they'll want to talk to the passengers and get an idea of what they saw. they're not going to do that on the airplane when they're all -- normally they get them off. >> i'm saying that the passengers were kept on board that plane for a while before they were taken off. >> well, i'm not sure how long that was. but you're right, they shouldn't have been on there that long.

but i think probably it might have been how long it took the arrangements to be made to get them to a better place, to be talked to. >> tom fuentes, thank you so much for clarifying things. we appreciate it. that us airways flight in philadelphia, the passengers being taken off the plane. an arrest has been made but we don't know if the threat of some sort of explosive liquid was real. we'll keep you posted. tom brokaw has been rushed to the hospital in charlotte near the democratic convention center. an nbc spokesperson says he felt lightheaded while on the set of "morning joe" this morning. he was taken to the hospital out of caution. he's going to be evaluated. brokaw is 72 years old. also happening now, the markets reacting well to the new job numbers. already the dow was up triple digits this morning. alison kosik isnew york stock exchange to put it

all into context. still rising? >> yeah, the dow up 183 points. those new numbers showing a brighter picture on the jobs front. first of all, payroll prices coming out with its numbers. 201,000 positions were added. that surpasses expectations. a second report, weekly jobless claims fell more than expected. fewer people filing for initial claims, falling to a level of 365,000. to put in it perspective here, that level is still high. there are a lot of people out of work, a lot of people still losing their jobs. so it's stuck in a tight range. you want to see that number keep dropping as opposed to keep hovering the way it has over the last six weeks. but still this adp number showing the private sector added this many jobs. it really gives high hopes for tomorrow's big government jobs report which happens to be the third to the last jobs report we are going to get before the election. one other thing boosting the market, european central bank president, mario draghi, the

equivalent of our fed chief ben bernanke, he announced an unlimited bond buying program. what that's going to do is look to mop up all the bad debt in italy and spain. those countries have been struggling with unsustainable borrowing cost. this giving a boost to the market because it is certainly a concrete step to try to get a handle on the debt situation in europe. >> alison kosik reporting live from the new york stock exchange. now let's head to charlotte. the democratic national convention is counting down to tonight's big finale. but an elder superstar of the party may have stole tennessee show. it's the first time a former president formally nominated his successor. over the course of 48 minutes, clinton praised president obama, mocked republicans and electrified the crowd. he ad libbed nearly half his speech. let's listen. >> in tampa, the republican argument against the president

reelection was actually pretty simple, pretty snappy. it went something like this -- we left him a total mess. he hadn't cleaned it up fast enough, so fire him and put us back in. but it could have been because as the senate republican leader said in a remarkable moment of candor, two full years before the election, their number one priority was not to put america back to work. it was to put the president out of work. president obama started with a much weaker economy than i did. listen to me now. no president, no president, not me, not my of any predecessors, no one could have fully repaired all the damage that he found in just four years.

we could have done better but last year the republicans blocked the president's job plan. costing the economy more than 1 million new jobs. so here's another job score. president obama plus 4.5 million. congressional republicans, 0. but i am telling you, the claim that president obama weakened welfare reform work requirement is just not true. but they keep on running ads claiming it. do you want to know why? their campaign pollster said, we are not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact-checkers. now, finally i can say, that is true.

i couldn't have said it better myself. people ask me all the time how we got four surplus budgets in a row. what new ideas do we bring to washington? i always give a one-word answer -- arithmetic. it's arithmetic. we simply cannot afford to give the reins of government to someone who will double down on trickle-down. >> so tonight, president obama has a tough act to follow. just about 12 hours from now, he'll deliver his acceptance speech and try to convince voters he deserves another four years in the white house. keep in mind, obama is considered one of the most gifted speakers of his political generation. but he has a far different style than bill clinton. cnn's suzanne malveaux is at the dnc in charlotte and joins us live. what can we expect tonight,

suzanne? >> reporter: it's interesting. i had a chance to be on the convention floor when clinton deliver that had 48-minute address. he did a lot of ad libbing but he did not go rogue. one of the moments that captured that room and that audience was at the very end when you saw president obama come out and former president clinton bowing to him and the two men actually embracing. you really got the sense it was the passing of the torch. but as you mentioned, carol, he really set the bar high here. a lot of big grand expectations for this president. i want you to take a listen to what we expect. barack obama's stirring oratory, drove his ascent to the presidency. >> i say to them tonight, there is not a liberal america and a conservative america. there is the united states of america. >> reporter: he's made a sport out of outtalking his adversaries. >> john mccain likes to say

he'll follow bin laden to the gates of hell. but he won't follow him to the cave where he lives. >> reporter: but in charlotte, can barack obama top barack obama? >> the expectations game definitely works against the president. it is a speech that is going to be compared to the '08 speech. >> reporter: obama comes from a long line of democratic party presidential candidates who faced similar speaking challenges. recall how bill clinton's snoozer of a keynote speech in 1998 -- >> in closing -- >> reporter: became history when it was replaced by his rusi rou 1992 nomination speech. >> i have news for the forces of greed, your time as come and gone. >> reporter: it's up to obama to live up to clinton's successful convention speech. >> tonight, let us resolve to build that bridge to the 21st century, to meet our challenges

and protect our values. >> the president has to make a case for his own reelection and to remind voters why he elected them in the first place and what are the choices he's made that have been helpful and successful despite the fact that there may have been some things that the president did not achieve? >> reporter: that means obama's convention speech needs to be more clinton than carter. >> as i've said many times before, we could have an american president who does not govern with negativism and fear but the future. >> he's giving a speech in an environment where most people believe the economy is not improving. so he's got to find the silver lining in all of this and try and convince people that it's enough to give him that second term. >> my father was a foreign student. >> reporter: this time, no falling back on the compelling personal story candidates often use to sell themselves to voters.

and he'll no longer be making a presidential first as an african-american. so instead of hearing a lot of this -- >> the change we need doesn't come from washington. change comes to washington. >> reporter: expect a lot of this -- >> you need somebody who's going to wake up every single day and fight for american jobs and investment here in the united states. that's what you need. that's why i'm running. >> reporter: carol, talking to delegates after the speech that president clinton gave, there were more than a couple of people who said they had hoped and wished that clinton could run again because they would support and vote for him. but president obama really needs to convince people that the last four years is something that was worth the investment. that he needs more time, another four years, to complete the job. we've heard the president say over the past couple of weeks that he does give himself an incomplete. and that really is part of the case that they are making here, that they were left with such a

mess, an economic mess, president clinton also making this point last night, that they need more time, essentially, to get this done. we'll see if this really generates the kind of support and the enthusiasm to get people to the polls. carol? >> suzanne malveaux reporting live from charlotte. thanks, suzanne. we have an update on tom brokaw. we told you he was rushed to the hospital in charlotte after an appearance on "morning joe." he just tweet this had out. he said, all is well, early a.m., i mistakenly took a half dose of ambien and made less sense than usual, made a better comeback than the giants. you knew something was up during his appearance on "morning joe". >> their glass is not exactly clear in terms of where you walk and where you sit next. so the former secretary of the

treasury -- stepped confidently into the party room and deeply into the pool. >> which proves he no longer walks on water? >> it's a lot more exciting than the republican convention. but the best part of the story is -- >> you could see clearly there was something wrong. of course, the folks over at msnbc made tom brokaw go to the hospital. he's okay, though. it was the aftereffects of ambien. those can last pretty long for some people. we're glad tom brokaw is a-okay this morning. what does joe biden need to say tonight to help his party? we'll find out after a break. -[ taste buds ] donuts, donuts! -who are these guys?

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so that wherever your duty takes you, usaa bank goes with you. visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different. before president obama takes the stage, we're going to hear from vice president joe biden. the vice president's has, as you know, countless slips of the tongue, so much so that a new gop super pac video from american future fund edited some of those gaffes together. >> where's it written we cannot lead the world in the 20th

century in making automobiles? stand up. let's see you. god love you. what am i talking about? three-letter word, jobs, j-o-b-s, jobs. >> biden will be carefully watched tonight by comedians looking for new material. but what are we really in for? eric baits joins me now, the executive editor of "rolling stone" magazine. good morning. >> good morning. >> i just interviewed a republican congressman who called joe biden essentially a clown and they can't wait until he debates paul ryan. >> yeah, i saw that interview. it made me laugh because i think you can say a lot of things about joe biden but you shouldn't underestimate him. he has a lot of experience. he knows how to step up and give a speech and he knows how to debate. i don't think it's going to be -- people are watching the undercard in this debate very

carefully because of paul ryan. it's going to be tough for him to match up with joe biden because joe biden's been there for a long time. >> it's interesting that republicans are painting joe biden the same way democrats painted sarah palin in 2008. >> that's right. and they couldn't be more different. joe biden is a guy who has been in washington for a long time, has served in a lot of positions. but more importantly, he's been in the white house for four years and he's been in the oval office next in president obama during pretty much all of the major decisions this administration has made and has been an integral part of this administration. he knows what's been going on from the inside out. >> but still, public perception is a real problem for the vice president. a recent pew survey found more people had negative words in mind than positive ones when asked to describe joe biden. here they are, iddiot, incompetent, clown and stupid. certainly that's a little bit of a liability for president obama.

>> well, in some ways, i think biden is gaffe-proof. it's part of his appeal and what makes him a bit of an albatross for the administration. but when he puts his foot in his mouth, it makes him seem buffoonish. but the top two words usually are good and honest from people. and part of his appeal is people feel like he speaks his mind and sometimes it comes out a little nutty. >> do you think he'll veer off script tonight? >> no. he'll be totally on script tonight. michelle obama came forward and presented barack obama the man. bill clinton came forward and presented barack obama, the values, the principles, the policy. bide season in a position to give us barack obama, the leader. as i said before, he's been there with him in the decisions about the stimulus, health care, bin laden. and can really give us a view of how barack obama has been

commander in chief over the past four years. >> eric bates from "rolling stone" magazine, thank you for joining us this morning. we appreciate it. >> good to be here. >> cnn's primetime coverage of the democratic national convention continues, 7:00 p.m. eastern with wolf blitzer and anderson cooper. we've heard a lot this week about the president being cool under pressure. but a new book revealed mr. obama lost his cool during a showdown with republicans over the federal debt ceiling. much are you, hon? ♪ nope. [ female announcer ] charmin ultra soft is so soft you'll have to remind your family they can use less. charmin ultra soft is made with extra cushions that are soft and more absorbent. plus you can use four times less versus the leading value brand. don't worry, there's plenty left for you dad. we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin ultra soft? so why exactly should that be of any interest to you?

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more on that breaking news about that us airways jet that had to turn around on its way to dallas and go back to philadelphia because somebody on board the plane had called in a threat, a threat that there was some sort of explosive liquid on board. we do know that authorities have arrested one person. susan candiotti is live in new york. susan, you have more information about how this threat was called in. tell us. >> reporter: right, what happened is either a phone call came in to the philadelphia police department or i'm told by the fbi there may have been a facebook posting involved in all

of this, with someone claiming that a passenger on board that us air flight had explosives. according to the fbi, for all intents and purposes, it appears that this was a hoax. but nevertheless, obviously they didn't take any chances. the plane was turned around, landed safely at philadelphia's airport. eventually all the passengers were taken off the plane, into a secure area and stayed there while one passenger was taken into custody. apparently this is the person, according to the fbi, that someone said had the explosives. no explosives were found. the plane has been cleared. this one passenger is in custody. we're not aware of any charges being filed at this time or whether the person is even under arrest, as they continue to dig into this, because if in fact, someone was claiming, according to authorities that this passenger had explosives, it wouldn't have been the person themselves. so where did this originate?

who made that original phone call or facebook posting? there will be a press conference very soon at the airport where we hope to learn more details about this from the fbi, from the department of homeland security and from philadelphia police. carol? >> fascinating. susan candiotti, thanks so much. great information there. now's your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question is, will bill clinton's magic put president obama back in the white house? it was classic bill clinton. charm them, cajole them, dazzle them, with a few whopping factoids, or not, depending on your perspective. but most of all, some analysts say bill clinton got it done, persuade undecided voters to reelect president obama. >> in tampa, the republican argument against the president reelection was actually pretty simple, pretty snappy. it went something like this -- we left him a total mess.

he hadn't cleaned it up fast enough soshgs fire him and put us back in. >> many analysts say president clinton made the case for president obama better and more clearly than mr. obama has. for example, that question, are you better off today? clinton said, heck, yeah. >> when president barack obama took office, the economy was in free fall. it had just shrunk 9% of gdp. we were losing 750,000 jobs a month. are we doing better than that today? the answer is yes. >> cnn contributor and republican alex castellano said, shut the front door, bill clinton just got president obama reelected. but last night, all appeared to be forgiven. that hug between the cool obama and the cuddly clinton seemed heartfelt. will bill clinton's magic put president obama back in the white house?

facebook.com/carolcnn. your comments later this hour. as i said, clinton dazzled the democrats last night. everyone is talking about it. why are they saying this -- >> tonight when everybody leaves, lock the door. you don't have to come back tomorrow. this convention is done. this will be the moment -- pinch... and zoom... in your car. introducing the all-new cadillac xts with cue. ♪ don't worry. we haven't forgotten, you still like things to push. [ engine revs ] the all-new cadillac xts has arrived, and it's bringing the future forward.

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32 minutes past the hour. welcome to "newsroom." i'm carol costello. checking our top stories, cases of west nile virus up 25% over the past week. officials say they expected the numbers to rise even more -- or will expect the numbers to rise over the next several weeks. the number of cases in the highest in the u.s. since 1999. a judge could reportedly order the forced beard shaving

of colonel nadal hassan today. he's been in contempt of court for not shaving. soldiers can be shaved against their will. investigators searching for answers in a bizarre and scary bank robbery in california. police say two men kidnapped a woman who worked at the bank and strapped what looked like a bomb to her body and then forced her to rob the bank. the bomb turned out to be fake but the two men managed to make out with a, quote, substantial amount of cash. they remain at large. president bill clinton delivered last night for his party when he formally nominated president obama for reelection. there was some anxiety because the campaign didn't have a copy of his speech before he delivered it. but clinton rallied the caucus in a way that only bill clinton can. so much so, republican

consultant and cnn contributor alex castellano praised clinton's appearance. >> tonight, when everybody leaves, lock the door. you don't have to come back tomorrow. this convention is done. this will be the moment that probably reelected barack obama. bill clinton saved the democratic party once. it was going too far left. he came in, the new democrats took it to the center. he did it again tonight. >> alex is in charlotte. he joins us now. hi, alex. >> hi, carol. >> you had a whole night to sleep on it. do you still feel the same today? >> yes, i do. i thought that was a tremendous speech. it was like watching a major league pitcher throw strikes effortlessly from center field. bill clinton is an old pro. but more importantly, he achieved a political objective. bill clinton did save the democratic party once. remember, the democratic party, big spenders.

they weren't trusted with the -- america's checkbook. bill clinton said, it's the economy, stupid. and he moved the democratic party back to the middle. barack obama, that's what a new democrat is. he said, the era of big government is over. barack obama moved it back left. spend, spend, spend is what america has seen from president obama. bill clinton brought them back last night, said, remember that this is a party of economic responsibility. he talked about that. now, that's very different than obama's record. >> right, i was just going to say that. come on, there's still a huge debt. and barack obama is not bill clinton. >> there's a huge gap. >> four days from now, will people really remember bill clinton's speech? >> i think it's a powerful moment. campaign stories and campaigns are told in moments. and this was one that i think will travel. guys are talking about this on sports radio. did you see bubba last night? i got a text from a woman i know who said, i want to sleep with

him and vote for him. so i think it's a pretty powerful moment. but barack obama has to catch the ball that bill clinton threw last night. he has to get on there tonight and say, yes, economic responsibility is important. here's what we're going to do. he needs to put something on the table. bowles/simpson, something. bill clinton has set him up. but ultimately, i think you're right, barack obama had to carry the ball across the line himself. >> barack obama is a great speaker. but in a far different way than bill clinton. he was going to give his speech in that big football arena which is perfect for barack obama. now he's moved indoors where he's not quite as effective. because bill clinton showed so much charisma last night, is it possible that barack obama can make people kind of forget last night happened? >> you know, it's going to be a tough speech for him to give. in a way, it's like michelle

obama and ann romney. michelle obama had a tougher job because she was telling us about somebody we already know and know well. there was a lot of paint on that canvas already. ann romney was telling us about someone that we didn't know well. so she had a fresh canvas to work with. tonight, we know barack obama. we know he gives great speeches. that's not what we need from him tonight. if he just does the same thing he always does, people stay where they already are. what does he have to do? this speech will actually be judged on substance. he has to say, look, we're going to take the country in a different direction. 70% of americans think this country's on the wrong track. let me tell you what's going to be different the next four years. i think that boils down to economic responsibility. >> alex castellano, thank you so much for being with us. i know you had a long night last night. >> a good one. >> a good one, yeah. thank you, alex. cnn's primetime coverage of the democratic national convention continues at 7:00 p.m. eastern

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good news out of wall street, at least for today. the dow's gone crazy. up 200 points or more. let's head to the new york stock exchange and check in with alison kosik. what's going on? >> reporter: new numbers showing the jobs picture here is getting a bit brighter. there were fewer layoffs last week. weekly jobless claims fell more than expected to 365,000. that is still a high range. it's that tight range that they've been treading water in. definitely want to see that number keep dropping as opposed to hovering the way it has been over the last six weeks. but it is good to see that we sort of are heading in the right direction now. also a second report, adp, that's the payroll prosser said that move it employers last month added 201,000 positions

last month blowing away expectations. it has a lot to do with this big rally you're seeing in the market, giving high hopes for tomorrow's government jobs report. everybody watching this very closely because this is going to be the third to the last jobs report we will get before the election. carol? >> alison kosik, thanks so much. reporting live from the new york stock exchange. what politician doesn't want the youth vote? it's hip and it's cool and it could help you win. obama overwhelmingly won younger voters in 2008. but this year, it's not clear if those voters will bother to vote. ♪ [ acoustic guitar: upbeat ] [ dog ] we found it together. on a walk, walk, walk. love to walk. yeah, we found that wonderful thing. and you smiled. and threw it. and i decided i would never, ever leave it anywhere.

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four years ago, a 16-year-old boy was on a mission to convince young people to vote even though he was too young to do that himself. it was called virgin voting and he made his own documentary about it.

he spoke to young voters. this just isn't a pollyanna vision about politics. 46 million people turned age of 30 are eligible to vote this election, more than 21% of all voters. in 2008, just about half of young voters actually went to the polls. 68% of them voted for obama. so what will young voters do this year? aren't they the ones worried about getting a job after college? seems obama and romney are so focused on women, latinos and the middle class, they've forgotten about young people. bill gray, the produce of "virgin voting," joins me from the cnn grill in charlotte. good morning. >> good morning. nice to see you. >> isn't that how it seems to you, no candidate is talking about young voter this is time around? >> what we saw last night with bill clinton, i think, was pretty enlightening, was refreshing to see that we're now starting to hear a little bit

more about young voters. i've attended a lot of debate this is cycle, listened to a lot of speeches objectively. and we haven't heard too much about the youth vote. the youth vote was huge in 2008. and it could be huge again in 2012. i'm calling on the candidates to really engage us a little bit more. but what we saw from president clinton last night made me feel hopeful that we're going to be included in this conversation a little bit more because we care. we really do. we just need to be shown that we care about politics and that we should be voting because a lot of us do. we just don't know it yet. >> the republicans would say that young voters fell in love with president obama and they've fallen out of love with him right now because of the tough job market out there, because of the huge college debt that many young people carry. is that how it seems to you? have many young people fallen out of love with obama? >> i don't think that many young people have fallen out of love with him. i think that there's a difference in excitement that we saw in 2008.

you don't really feel that right now, again, because it's kind of been a lot of the republicans dominating the election right now. we were promised hope and change, and we were all pretty hopeful. and i think that we haven't seen a lot of what we thought we were going to see. but i think as the election gets closer, we might see that excitement come back. and we started to see a little bit of it last night. >> it seems like young people aren't really interested in even watching the conventions. when you hear that tlc show about "honey boo-boo" had higher ratings than the rnc, what does that tell you about young people? >> it tells you that clearly young people, for the majority, we're not interested in politics. but that's because the politicians aren't catering to us. they're not speaking out to, they're not including us. we make up 26% of the electorate. that's a huge population.

if the media includes us a little bit more, the politicians include us more, if we are shown that we should be coming out and voting and we should care about what's going on, we're going to get off the couch and raise our voices and we're going to vote. >> i suspect president obama will talk about student loans tonight. we'll see. noah gray, thank you so much. we appreciate it. >> thanks, carol. sports shocker, the baltimore orioles are relevant in september. we'll talk to a baltimore sun sports guy about what's different now and could they really sweep the yankees and retake first place in the east? with our revolutionary e-trade 360 dashboard you see exactly where your money is and what it's doing live. our e-trade pro platform offers powerful functionality that's still so usable you'll actually use it. and our mobile apps are the ultimate in wherever whenever investing. no matter what kind of investor you are,

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the american league east has been turned upside down. the baltimore orioles are fighting the new york yankees for the division lead. the birds fell a game back of the yanks last night. but they could move back into first during a four-game head-to-head series at camden yards starting tonight. o's' first baseman mark reynolds is excited about this weekend in baltimore. >> i've heard it sold out. hopefully it's all orioles fans. great atmosphere. i'm a little nervous out there playing in front of so many people. but it's fun. i'm looking forward to it. this weekend should be a great time. plus we have the ravens on monday night, off day. it's going to be a great day.

>> 15 years since the orioles were this good. peter schmuck says, quote, the last time the orioles were in first place in september, your college freshman was just starting to walk with any degree of confidence, your phone wasn't smarter than you and "seinfeld" was entering its fairwell season. peter joins us now. welcome. >> thank you, carol. >> i was listening to mark reynolds. he said he hopes the stands are filled with o's fans. what's up with that? >> because over the last 15 years, the stadium has kind of been taken over by red sox and yankee fans, depending on which team is in town. which is really galling to people in baltimore and real baltimore oriole fans. there's been a movement over the last few years to take back the yards. we'll see what happens tonight and over the next four days. these games were going to be close to sold out. they may draw 170,000, 180,000 people over the next four days. if 30% of them are yankee fans, that's fine.

but if 70% of them are yankee fans, it's not. >> it's crazy to think o's fans would not be on board. are they still walking around in a daze not believing it's quite real? >> i think there's some skepticism about this team. they've been seduced and abandoned before. they spent 60 days in first place in 2005. and then the season just blew up with the steroid scandal and the collapse at the end of the year. i think they're waiting for the next shoe to drop. but this weekend is probably going to determine that one way or the other. this is the biggest series -- baseball series in baltimore probably since cal ripken reese retirement. i'm excited about it. baseball is back and that's important for the sports scene here in baltimore. >> it's just unbelievable. buck showalter is one kind of a mag. people could probably name every yankee. yet the orioles, they're in

contention. >> not only are they in contention, but they're doing it with mirrors or oriole magic because if you look at the stat sheet, they rank in the bottom half of the major leagues in just about everything. in some cases, the bottom third of the major leagues. they also throughout the season have had the american league's worst defensive team. it just doesn't make any sense statistically. but as you know, the great 19th century british prime minister used to say, three kinds of lies, lies, damn lies and statistics. and in this particular case. the orioles are proving the numbers wrong. >> it will be an exciting series. i say, go o's. thank you very much, peter schmuck, for joining us. >> thank you very much. now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, will bill clinton's magic put president obama back in the white house? facebo facebook.com/carolcnn. your responses next. mom's smar.

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will bill clinton's magic put president obama back in the white house? this from paul, won't seal the deal but it sure helped a lot. obama needs to pick up that momentum now and run with it, trying to match that speech will be a little more than difficult. this from vickie, i loved his speech. it was informative, treated people with dignity and respect.